Mad Men: A fair assessment

I've long been a fan of Mad Men, for many reasons and on many levels. I'm not going to go into all that here, but I will note a recent New York magazine review that I think captures beautifully what this show is all about.

The review was written right before Season 5 began, and it bats back some critics' complaints that the show doesn't serve history as it should by perfectly encapsulating the era. The review argues -- so correctly -- that this was never the intention of Mad Men.

This show is what all great writing should be: a window into the human condition. Mad Men is a perfect (silent) canvas on which life, hope, and good and evil play.

(And a side note on any suggestions that Mad Men has a soap opera flair: Well, how many times in your life have you had a tangled day and thought to yourself, "My life is like a soap opera"? I find the show completely realistic, the characters very well developed, and each episode self-resolving. Not much of a soap opera from where I'm sitting.)

The review uses the word "intimate," a great observation, and also notes Mad Men's resistance to a "master narrative" that has to be resolved or kept wound around its characters.

A great show (although, as always, beware before jumping in), and a great review.

Truly interesting journalism

It was a package so well done that I actually felt the need to buy the entire magazine this time.

This month, from New York magazine:

• A fascinating collection of New York living spaces currently embracing a "new old" trend, from neo-Victorian to neo-British and more. You can hardly do justice to these amazing photos on the Web, but this link should get you started for some great home design ideas. My favorite? NeoVictorians, by far. Check out their olive oil holder.
  
• If you want to be sufficiently creeped out yet enjoy a fantastic piece of journalism, check out this piece on bedbugs in New York's richest sections. Great writing, great facts, great story.
• And a great essay on the essence of skyscrapers, complete with a wondrous package of photos that show the city's skyline throughout the years. The writing captures why skyscrapers are more than just tall buildings (they speak to the heart of the city and where it's going rather than being a travesty to the landscape like the many mid-level buildings that pack the city do, which attract tons of people, obscure views, and are altogether ugly). The art gives you a glimpse into the world they've make New York City become.
  

If at all possible, buy the issue. It's what a magazine should be.

Women are the brake pedal

This article from New York Magazine reveals the big surprise that when women and men team up, there are great results because they balance each other out. Of course, the NY Mag article is a lot more about biological influences and risk-taking tendencies (watch out for some salty language and other terms), but what I see is that the way women tend to act, balanced with how guys work, can make a good result when properly combined.

My first NY

New York Magazine ran a great article last week, with some writers talking about their first experience in New York. It's a hook for a new book coming out from the editors of New York Magazine with same idea, just with a lot more people telling their stories, but the first three in this article online are the best.

Check out the photo of Nora Ephron covering Bobby Kennedy's campaign. My favorite line in the whole article? Also Ephron: "I'd known since I was 5, when my parents forced me to move to California, that I was going to live in New York eventually and that everything in between was just a horrible intermission."

The depressing world of celebri-blech

I've never been one to follow that herd labeled "celebrities" (I will take the occasional articles on my favorite actor, actress, comedian, and sports figures, thank you very much), and many of the reasons why are summed up in this article by New York Post Page 6 writer Paula Froelich (appears in New York magazine). This morally devoid batch of people (whether it's scandals, arrogance, or just not having the common sense to be a normal, private person) have nothing to offer...except lessons of what not to do, that is.

Kudos, Keller.

"Why are you in New York? Deep down, you think something is wrong with you." — Tim Keller, Redeemer Presbyterian, New York City

It's always interesting when the media tries to cover faith, beliefs, religion, Christianity, evangelicals, or anything close.

This story in the December 7 issue of New York magazine, though, seems to cover Tim Keller's church-work in New York City pretty well. When they quote him, it's less about shock effect, and you can see the point of his message come through.

The best thing about Keller's ministry is that his church is actually sticking to Biblical principles and is still attracting a gathering in New York City. After the article came out, a lot of people criticized Redeemer Presbyterian for being too conservative, but you have to draw the line somewhere (especially since Christianity's hallmark is its basic, unnegotiable principles). I'm happy Keller decided to draw his line along the Bible, and that people aren't buying into a populace movement; they're coming to the truth because he's taking a strong stance.

Best of all, Keller's main tone goes beyond Gotham, calling the world to find a deeper meaning. He tells people to hunt for something other than satisfaction and worth in materialism and achievement.

"We want to feel beautiful, we want to feel loved," Keller says. "We want to feel significant, and that's why we're working so hard, and that's the source of evil."

New York just happens to be the place where a lot of people have landed for their final push to the top.

"Why are you in New York?" Keller asks. "Deep down, you think something is wrong with you."

My favorite part of the entire story, though, is when Keller makes the clear point that his faith is backed by his intellect. As conservativism and Republicanism and Bible Beltism rips through the nation, making people think Christians are a willfully ignorant, scared, much-too-large part of the populace. Keller draws attention back to arguments that hold together his church's beliefs.

"Keller says he fell under the spell of religious writers, C.S. Lewis being the best known, whose faith in Jesus and the Bible was untainted by the anti-intellectualism of American fundamentalism," the article reads.

Keller: "I think you simply can't get orthodox Christianity into one political mold."

Amen.

The regular arguments against religion and faith will be thrown against Keller and Redeemer Presbyterian. They will include cries of intolerance and judgment. It's always going to be that way, however. For this story, realize that thousands of people have said that, despite parts of their faith that are oft-ridiculed, they're still holding to that which they've discovered is true.

As Keller says, "Well, you know what. You can't teach what we teach — that you must be born again through belief in Jesus Christ — without saying most of the world is wrong."

And Keller's wife, Kathy, even has something to say about the mainstream news outlets that can easily skew the story. A 1998 New York Times article unduly highlighted the church's views on premarital sex and homosexuality without giving space to the rest of its beliefs. It "could have been entitled 'Manhattanites More Stupid Than We Thought — Attend Christian Church,'" Kathy says.

The NYM article is more along the lines of, "Manhattanites Seem to Have Found Something Interesting — Faith That Makes Sense."

People will say what they may, but at least we have a beefy article out there saying what we actually believe.

Kudos, Keller.

Excellent reads from NY Mag

The best I've seen in a while from New York magazine:
(1) An excellent take on Hillary Clinton's new role
(2) An interesting profile on Michael Bloomberg's unique mayorship
(3) A moving feature on life, music, and a kid who knew how to play his instrument

New York, New York

This week's New York magazine has a lot of great content, including a page chronicling the Yankees' pie-in-the-face walkoff hits this year. (Nice picture of Nick Swisher covered in pie; not available online.)

Also, there's an interesting piece on how Michael Moore's latest documentary makes him look like a Bible thumper, which no one would have expected yet is a surprisingly accurate connection.

My favorite piece, though, was this article on how much Eli Manning makes, and not just because it's frank about him not being worth the biggest quarterback salary in the NFL. This is the most entertaining, enlightening piece I've ever read on sports salaries, and it's not from a sports magazine, Web site, or newspaper. It's full of information that all sports fans should know, which may be why it hasn't been covered so well. But if sports writers would write about complex issues such as salaries in such a quick, easy way, it would make a great article (they could do it in so many ways, too: breaking down the highest-paid player per team, guaranteed money per team, etc.). This is the kind of article casual sports fans love to read, because they would never want to admit they don't know a lot about salaries and such, yet they would love to know more (without others knowing they didn't know) and find out in such a fun way.

Oh, and it looks like Eli Manning is wearing makeup in that photo.

Finally, the Carrie Fisher profile this week was superb. I've read quite a few profiles on her ever since her play, "Wishful Drinking," came out, which is why I may have like it so much from the start, but the writer does a really good job of capturing a much-caricatured person in an easy, entertaining, and enlightening way. Warning, though: If you know nothing about Fisher, her life is sort of a mess.

More good stuff from NY Mag

New York magazine is fantastic, and the September 28 issue proved no different, with a few great articles. My personal favorite was this feature called "Vu," which highlights different apartments and such available around the city. The best part is their little slideshow on how all that empty office space left over by the recession can be turned into places to live, much like the loft-style apartments rose out of old factory buildings. It's mostly funny, sort of interesting. Oh, and buy the magazine to support journalism; as nice as it is online, it's better in print.

Great Letterman piece

New York magazine (one of those magazines I love and will subscribe to when I'm making enough to splurge on glossies about the Big Apple) ran a great article on David Letterman, and what he means to late night and comedy.

I've always been a Letterman fan, and although I can't completely understand what he's done to the landscape over the past few decades (I only started sneaking downstairs to watch him within the past five years or so), I can appreciate the anointment of his humor over Jay Leno's.

The article is long, which means you're better off just buying the magazine so you can really enjoy it and all the cool graphics. Go ahead, support journalism.

What's in the Hudson: It's not as gross as you think

The May 18, 2009 issue of New York magazine had one of the most interesting features I've ever read: a piece on the many things below the surface in the Hudson River.

Yes, some of the things are gross, such as the four-foot long worms and the bits of toilet paper they find after rainstorms (when the sewer gets flooded), but the Hudson also holds an artificial reef of old ice cream trucks teeming with lobster, millions of dollars' worth of silver and a shipwreck on top of another shipwreck.

It's a fascinating collection of information, interspersed with quotes from guys who spend their workday down there. Read it here.